'Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God's holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.'
Ephesians 1:1-10
How wonderful is our Lord. This section of Ephesians pretty much sums up how great he is. Just the simple line: 'in love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ' shows us the immense love which God has for us. We are not his adopted children any more, but his real sons and daughters. We are children of the King! And what's more, he redeems us and we are forgiven because he loves us. I'm going to keep on saying the word love because that's what God is. Love. Something that makes us think of soppy romances, but is actually so much more. Love is God. God is love. And if God is something much more than a soppy idea, then so is love.
But what I really wanted to talk about is the last bit: 'With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.' The simple thing to learn from this is that God doesn't keep secrets. He will tell you stuff. You don't have to be one of those people who think that God hides everything from you. Some people think that God won't tell you anything about your future, or about what his plans are for you. THAT'S NOT TRUE!!!! God will tell you stuff - if you listen to him.
Well, yeah, it's easy to say that. But I know how hard it is to listen for God. It often feels like there's no-one speaking to you. I think the hardest thing is not knowing what it'll sound like when he des speak to you. Will it be in a deep, booming voice, or will it be a tiny buzzing that you could miss in a second? The truth is, no-one knows. But God doesn't speak to everyone in the same way. And when he does speak to you, you might not even realise it's him. He could send you a dream, or a picture, or he could make something stand out for you from the bible. You might even hear him reading this devotional, or when one of your friends is talking. I knew someone who found God speaking to him through a job offer! But however he does speak to you, always remember that you should never give up. Even if you feel that God has never spoken to you and never will, don't stop trying. Pray to him, and ask him to help you listen. That's the best way.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for being wonderful. Thank you for blessing me. Thank you for being my father. Thank you for redeeming me. Thank you for not keeping stuff a secret. Please help me to be able to listen when you are talking to me. Help me to know when something is a message from you. Please speak to me, Jesus. Help me not to give up.
Amen